Francy that: Finding, and losing, art in public spaces

Our society is far removed from the Great Depression of the 1930s. Nevertheless, some government programs instituted to aid in the economic recovery left their marks on the northern communities of Minnesota. One of the most familiar is the Works Progress Administration, established in 1935 to employ millions of people to build public projects such as town halls, bridges, schools and park structures. These buildings and bridges are widely known, and the WPA letters are seen stamped somewhere on the edifice.

On Oct. 3 the Cloquet library offered a program by local artists Brian and Sue Matuszak. They said they found another component of the WPA while geocaching in Mountain Iron, Minnesota. They spied a large statue of Leonidas Merritt in front of the library there. Although it wasn’t what they were seeking, they were surprised to find the letters WPA stamped on the back of the historical marker.

“It’s a cool statue but it didn’t have a lot of info. So, just on our own we looked up about it and found out that it was funded by the Federal Art Project, which is something we had never heard of,” Brian said.

He explained the art project was a part of the WPA. “Artists were funded too to create art for communities to boost morale and make people feel better, and artists had to eat too.”

The Matuszaks have researched and visited towns in our area to satisfy their curiosity about this part of art history in our region. They compiled the information into an enjoyable and worthwhile presentation.

One of instrumental proponents of the arts was Clement Haupers, the FAP state supervisor. Production of high-quality art that reflected the life of a town in a mural or sculpture was the goal. Haupers also wanted to have art displayed in as many Minnesota towns as possible.

“Communities would apply to the state art supervisor and say, ‘We would like a piece of art for this,’ and he would hook them up with the artist and then he would get out of the way,” Matuszak said.

Women artists and minorities were encouraged to participate in the program which led to the statue in Mt. Iron being completed by Robert Crump, an African-American sculptor. When the original artist chosen to create the statue failed to do the work, Haupers fired him and turned to Crump. Due to the delay, Crump had one month to complete the statue of Leonidas Merritt in time for the town’s 50th anniversary celebration. Using a new molding technique, the work was finished and the statue remains in place.

Artists could apply directly to Edward Bruce, the head of The Section of Fine Arts, a part of the WPA. They would send sketches of proposed murals or statues for approval. The murals, usually placed in post offices, were to depict positive aspects of the town or location.

Elsa Jemne, a famous Minnesota artist, studied fresco painting in Italy and produced the large, colorful murals, “Wilderness” and “Iron Ore Mine,” on opposite walls of the Ely post office in the fresco style. She donned the miner’s clothing and rode down to the 13th level of a mine to gather the realistic images she depicted in three panels. The vibrant colors and details retain their beauty after over 80 years.

Cloquet had a mural painted by Dewey Albinson. The Matuszaks found correspondence at the Carlton County Historical Society between Albinson and the section administrator describing a bit of controversy over the sketch for the mural. Albinson submitted a draft he called “Lake Superior Shores-Yesterday and Today.” Since Cloquet is 21 miles from Lake Superior, Albinson was told it did not reflect life in our community. But program leaders finally relented and the mural was placed in the post office.

Matuszak presented a picture of Albinson’s painting and said, “This is what it apparently looked like. I say ‘apparently,’ because you cannot go in and eyeball it for yourself because it is gone.” As was written earlier this year in the Pine Knot, no one really knows what happened to the mural. The Matuszaks learned that there was a charcoal sketch of the mural donated to the Lake County Historical Society, but it has not responded with any information. Another reference they found said the mural was likely misplaced during remodeling at the post office in the 1960s.

Matuszak listed other towns in our region that still have the murals or sculptures, but pieces in several places no longer exist.

“These stories deserve to be told over and over again until every member of every community in Minnesota knows about them because they were just as important as all the bridges and city halls, maybe even more so,” he said.

It would involved a drive, but anyone interested in hearing the Matuszak’s presentation can still catch them at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Eveleth library or 12:30 p.m. Monday at the Ely library.

Writer Francy Chammings is a retired English teacher and clinical psychologist who loves living in Carlton County. Contact her [email protected].